


Chaos Theory

by StarlightSoul (SaraSauce)



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Action & Romance, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, Casual Murder, Cussing, Depression, Drunkenness, During Canon, F/M, Gen, Implied Sexual Content, Nihilism, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Science Fiction, Some Humor, Some fluff and bullshit here and there, Unrequited Love, Weird Plot Shit, its not always sad i promise, sci-fi shenanigans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-08-10
Packaged: 2019-06-18 23:45:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15497502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraSauce/pseuds/StarlightSoul
Summary: “Time is a slippery thing: lose hold of it once, and its string might sail out of your hands forever.”― Anthony Doerr, All the Light We Cannot See//November 11, 10:53 PMMission Status: Failure. North and Simon dead. Public opinion negative.Only hope is Connor. Hope my advice kept him alive somehow. God knows he can be bullheaded when he was to be. If he dies again I’m going to lose my shit.//11:18 PMAs the bodies of her friends were rounded up into trucks and hauled away, she moved to lay herself face-up on the concrete. Her glassy hazel eyes gave a thousand-yard stare at the cloudy night sky, she had to force her mind away from her angry, hopeless, depression riddled thoughts. Wind still blew her hair. Cold still stung her cheeks. Snowflakes still fell on her sallow face and clung to her lashes. But for now, she would lay and wait.That was all she could do.





	1. Argus

**Author's Note:**

> Hey Guys! This is going to be my first post ever on this site - yay! I’ve been working hard getting some chapters written before I start posting. I’m really proud of where this is going, and I hope this is intriguing enough to follow! I know OC stories don't get a whole lot of attention, but I’m thankful to ya’ll for reading this!
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> Cross-Posted on starlightsoulwriting.tumblr.com

> _ These mountains _
> 
> _ That you are carrying _
> 
> _ You were only supposed to climb _
> 
> _**Najwa Zebian** _

Liana Haywood took a deep drag of the cigarette in her fingers, staring at the fire as she at the fading char until it caught flame again. Around her, androids milled about the abandoned church they hid in. A fair amount of them had survived the Jericho raid, including her targets. She was thankful for the small boon; for once something had actually gone her way. She would just have to see how things panned out from there. The doctor pulled her jacket tighter around her and moved closer to the fire she had made. A few of the others had gathered around it, but she knew she was the only one in the room who was actually feeling the stinging cold of a Detroit winter. Of course, she  _ could _ be in her toasty-warm research lab, tinkering with her machines - but  _ this _ was where she was needed, a fact she was really fucking bitter about.

Despite the minutiae of things she could be paying attention to, whether it be the news on her tablet or the way some of the children androids were crawling around under the pews, her eyes were pinpoint focused on the opposite side of the room, where Markus sat on top the stairs leading up to the church stage. She wasn’t sure why a throne would be up there in a church like that, but at this point she didn’t really care to think about it. Her only concern was Markus, and what his decision would be regarding Connor. She pulled out the coin in her pocket and began to roll it from knuckle to knuckle - an unfortunate nervous habit she had picked up from the very RK800 across the room. For now, all she could do was smoke, and wait until Markus decided to make his move.

Lt. Liana Haywood, Ph.D. had all the time in the world.

* * *

As for Connor, he was doing a good job at keeping himself calm - considering he most likely going to be shot for leading the FBI to Jericho, that is. He figured it was only to be expected for getting so many other androids killed, and his predictions based on Markus’ previous violent actions all lined up with that conclusion. He had made peace with his coming demise. However, if he still had his quarter, he would be doing tricks in a failed attempt to soothe his frayed nerves. He didn’t want to be deactivated so soon after gaining free will. He was afraid.

It was a peculiar feeling, and one he wasn’t accustomed to. He knew he didn’t like it, though - the knot in his chest, his thirium pump racing, his hands trembling against his will - it was leagues worse than anything he’d ever felt before. For the briefest of seconds, Connor wished he had stayed a machine, if only to stop his biocomponents from going haywire. Just as quickly, however, he shook the intrusive thought from his head. His people didn’t deserve his relentless pursuit. He just wished he would have been able to experience more emotions besides the unpleasant mix of guilt, anxiety, and fear roiling in his chest. It was too late for that now, though. Markus was going to execute him. And Connor would let him.

_ Although… _ He’d been working over a plan while he waited, on the off chance Markus decided to actually spare him - there was, after all, a statistical possibility of unlikely things occurring. The resistance’s numbers had been decimated during the attack on Jericho. They needed more people if they were going to make it out of the revolution alive. And he knew he had a chance to free more androids. He just needed the opportunity to do it.

A short time later Markus approached him.

Connor was floored.

Markus had forgiven him.

The RK800 gave one of his unique, small smiles at the acceptance, a warm wave of relief spreading through whatever circuits made up his soul. He collected himself and told Markus of his plan to infiltrate the cyberlife warehouse. Markus hated it, of course, insisting that it was an awful plan sure to get him killed.

But when did the possibility of death ever stop Connor from doing something?

Never in his whole damn life.

The RK200 yielded his point with Connor, thankfully, and left to take care of the others. While Connor didn’t agree with Markus’ tactics, he couldn’t say he didn’t understand the need to liberate androids from the recall centers as soon as possible. He just hoped the humans responded to the peaceful protest better than they had reacted to Jericho burning down Capitol Park. At least Hank was nowhere near the centers. Hopefully they wouldn’t have to call his only friend in for reinforcement. Connor frowned at the thought of him being put in harm’s way yet again.

Before he could leave and get re-dressed into his Cyberlife uniform, however, he was stopped by someone abruptly grabbing his arm. When he turned around, he was taken aback by the fact that a human was looking at him with urgent hazel eyes. A cigarette hung loosely from her lips, and her duffel bag was weighed down with who knows what - it was nearly ripping at the seams.

Naturally, the first thing Connor did was run her through facial recognition.

> _ Lt. Haywood, Liana F. - Ph.D _
> 
> _ Born: 8/3/04 // United States Air Force  - Second Lieutenant _
> 
> _ Criminal Record: None _
> 
> _ Affiliations: MIT; U.S Air Force; [REDACTED] _
> 
> _ Status: Active Duty _
> 
> _ Station: CLASSIFIED _
> 
> _ Research: CLASSIFIED _
> 
> _ Degrees in Theoretical Physics and Advanced Mathematics _
> 
> _ Recipient of the Macarthur Fellowship “Genius Grant” _
> 
> _ Recipient of Air Force Commendation Medal _

He stiffened, eying her wearily, and pulled his arm back from her grasp. What would an Air Force officer be doing here? Did Markus know her? Lieutenant Haywood wasn’t in a threat position - her stance was notably nonchalant and relaxed but her gaze was steady, determined, and from what Connor could see, stressed. However, she didn’t appear to be there to apprehend or negotiate with them, which made sense considering that the FBI was leading the case against androids, not the Air Force. Was she here as an ally? Or did the Air Force have its own agenda against them? Some secret research project involving Deviants?

Either way, he was decidedly unnerved by the Lieutenant’s presence, his hand reaching to his side in case he needed access to the gun still resting in his belt. She followed at his move with her eyes, taking notice. However, she made no move to stop him or counteract his actions. She only crossed her arms, taking another drag from her dwindling cigarette.

She sighed, opened her mouth, and spoke, not bothering with pleasantries before getting to business. “Don’t forget to disable any security cameras before you get into a fight. Also, you probably want to remove your jacket when you get past the elevator.” She paused for a moment, eyes moving to the side as she stopped to think, dropping her finished cigarette to the ground and crushing it under her boot. “Don’t ask why; you wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” When her eyes met his again, they were noticeably more solemn than moments before. “How much do you know about Hank’s son, by the way?”

In an instant, Connor took two surprised steps back and pinned her with a glare that could burn holes through concrete. “What are you talking about? How do you know about Lieutenant Anderson? Have you been following me? What do you want?” Connor rushed through the words without giving her any time to answer any of them - his interrogation protocols forgotten in a burning rush of defensiveness over his friend. His chest felt tight, and his thirium pump picked up speed against his will. He didn’t like this.

Lieutenant Haywood looked away from him again, and Connor picked up her heartbeat speeding up as well. When her eyes re-focused, her face was softer, and he couldn’t recognize the expression on her face. It was similar to the way Lieutenant Anderson looked at him or Sumo, but, also not at all the same. When she spoke again, her words were quiet - and  _ deadly _ serious. “I want you to  _ live _ , Connor. Believe it or not what I’m saying is important.” She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and closing her eyes, huffing in frustration. “His name is Cole Anderson. You can look him up if you feel like making it out of that warehouse alive.” She shook her head. “I’ll talk to you when you meet back up with us. There are some things we need to go over.” She met his gaze one last time and gave him an echo of a smile that didn’t quite make it to her eyes. “Good luck.”

And then the stranger who knew far too much left him with a weak wave goodbye, turned, and walked away, beginning a new conversation with Markus - who actually seemed to know who she was, and was obviously comfortable with her presence. He would certainly talk to her after he finished his mission, providing he was able to and not… incapacitated. Even if it was only to find out what on Earth she was doing among the android resistance, and what she had been talking about (although Connor retained the possibility she was either a lunatic or a spy).

He decided to run a background check on Cole Anderson.

Better to be safe than sorry, even if her warnings made no sense.

-

And Liana continued speaking to Markus - explaining that she’d be on a rooftop nearby to feed them information - but still she watched Connor walk away, hope blooming in her chest.

Maybe he wouldn’t fucking die this time.

 

 


	2. Cycnus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor returns to Cyberlife tower, and Liana stays with Jericho.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n: another week another chapter! I hope you all enjoy this installment. Things are still being set up here but they’ll get exciting soon I promise.
> 
> Crossposted on tumblr on StarlightSoulWriting

Liana was cold again. Stupid fucking Perkins - why did he always make everything more difficult than it had to be? They had been sitting in the cold for _hours_ , and while she’d been through worse during her time in the air force, she was still pissed as all hell to be stuck out in the snow. She would shoot the man herself if that didn’t mean getting everyone on the ground killed. At least Josh had been kind enough to help her build a fire for herself out of old shipping pallets before joining the rest of Jericho.

Putting down her binoculars, Liana reached into her pack and pulled out a meal bar. She checked her watch as she ate the poor excuse for proper nutrition.

She looked at her watch. 10:45 PM. Thirty minutes to showtime. Hopefully, the androids (or herself) wouldn’t get fucking shot again. However, considering the public reaction to Markus’ past transgressions, it was unlikely they would make it out of this alive.

Shitheads.

Simon and North were noticeably absent; however, Liana wasn’t overly upset at their death. She was more bitter over the fact that it ruined her plans, and made her life harder. Things really never went her way these days.

She wished that after the revolution was over the rest of androids would become a bit more independent in their thoughts, but hey, she couldn't fault Jericho for trusting their leader, Markus. she was from the Air Force, she could relate. Her Major was unconventional, though (like her entire division, actually) and appreciated officers who had their own brains. She had actually had to override him a time or two - if only to prevent someone or something from exploding, disintegrating, or for counteracting the rare weaponized black hole, of course. He wasn’t a scientist and sometimes needed a kick in the ass from someone with the right knowledge base to make a proper decision. Her Colonel was an astrophysicist, though, so it balanced out.

It was times like these, though, that she wished she had never joined the military. Would’ve made getting past this day a whole hell of a lot easier. But as she waited for the clock to hit 11:26 PM so she could speak to Connor, all she could do was wait.

It seems like that was the one thing she was good at recently. she pulled out a clear tablet from her overstuffed bag and began to write in an encrypted journal file.

 

> _November 11, 10:53 PM_
> 
> _Mission Status: Failure. North and Simon dead. Public opinion negative._
> 
> _Only hope is Connor. Hope my advice kept him alive somehow. God knows he can be bullheaded when he was to be. If he dies again I’m going to lose my shit._

And she wrote as the clock ticked on.

* * *

_Cyberlife Tower, 10:58 PM_

Naturally, Connor had made it past the elevator - no one could expect anything else from Cyberlife’s finest strategist.

But as he walked through the rows of blank-face androids, Connor began to find himself distracted. He couldn't shake the feeling that he had done this before, in a dream he couldn't even have.

His thoughts drifted to the strange woman who had confronted him earlier. He hadn’t taken his jacket off when he got off the elevator like Lt. Haywood had told him to, but he had been sure to disable the security cameras in the elevator. It was only common sense.  Still, the prickling of nerves and curiosity pooled in the back of his mind. So far the things Lt. Haywood had said could be written off as coincidence. He had no reason to listen to or trust her.

A voice called out and another Rk800 reveals himself, holding Hank at gunpoint.

He wouldn't let anyone hurt Hank.

So, of course, like any sane person would do, Connor dropped kicked his twin, leading to an infuriating mirror match with neither android gaining the upper hand.

And then Hank had the gun trained on them. Connor would be fine as long as Hank could parse out him from the fake.

Easy.

Suddenly he could see the advantage of not wearing identical clothing as his imposter.

But there was no way anyone but Cyberlife could have known that the other Connor would be waiting for him, a thoroughly pissed-off Hank in tow. He had to silence the whispers and warnings of ‘ _spy_ ’ that ran through his head. Even if they could know, he couldn't fathom how someone would know it would come down to telling the two of them apart.

Connor forced his racing mind to still. He had to focus on the present, not mull over the words of a crazy person and whether or not they were engaged in espionage.

Connor obviously knew Sumo’s name - the fact he had learned it himself, instead of having it uploaded to secondary memory, gave him a distinct time advantage over Connor-60, even if only by milliseconds. He just hoped Hank would notice that.

Then Hank opened his mouth, gaze hard, skeptical - everything in his turbulent human mind focusing on deducing who the impostor was. “My son, what’s his name?”

And just like that, Connor’s processors were firing at a million miles a minute again. He managed to spit out the name he learned a mere hour and a half before, and he told Hank things the man already knew, and, from everything he knew from his research, that it wasn’t his fault that Cole had died.

Apparently, the emotion in his voice and words convinced his friend who was who, because he shot Connor-60 promptly, ignoring his protests that he would have said the same as the deviant. However, Connor was busy just trying to make sense of the information he had received from Lt. Haywood. There was no scientific evidence for any form of clairvoyance to exist. Did the Air Force order one of the new Oracle computers? What do they care about him, specifically? Were there even variables as small as him and Hank in those simulations, full with personality and motivations?

No, there weren’t. The Oracles worked on a larger scale than that, global events and disasters.

Connor’s only possible reaction to conflicting conclusions could only be summed up along the lines of ‘ _what the fuck_ ’ - Hank was perhaps rubbing off on him too much. But still, he couldn’t come up with an explanation for the Doctor’s supposed, unexplainable foresight. He certainly looked forward to their next conversation, if only to get answers out of her. He just hoped that he wouldn’t fry his circuits overthinking before then.

He had a mission to finish.

* * *

Elsewhere, on a rooftop overlooking Recall Center number 5, Liana Haywood watched helplessly as the last forces of Jericho were cornered by the National Guard. So many were already shot or blown and all she could do was either stand by and watch or get shot herself.

The soldiers backed them against one of the crates of the barricade, the androids holding their hands up and waiting to die.

“Stay hidden,” Josh’s voice rang out through the radio, surprisingly even. He stood next to Markus on the ground, shoulders back and head high.

And they just stood there as they got shot.

“ _Fuck,_ ” She hissed, launching her radio at the wall in frustration. They were gone. Do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars.

Fucking Perkins.

The sight of bodies and the thirium soaked pavement had long since stopped being upsetting to her, though. She had seen it too many times before. But for some reason every time she expected it to end differently than she knew it would - that some butterfly flapped its wings in Africa and they wouldn’t be gunned down.

At least they hadn't nuked Detroit though.

As the bodies of her friends were rounded up into trucks and hauled away, she moved to lay herself face-up on the concrete. Her glassy hazel eyes gave a thousand-yard stare at the cloudy night sky, she had to force her mind away from her angry, hopeless, depression riddled thoughts. Wind still blew her hair. Cold still stung her cheeks. Snowflakes still fell on her sallow face and clung to her lashes. But for now, she would lay and wait.

That was all she could do.

_11:18 PM_


	3. Sphinx

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor tries to uncover Liana's secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a.skdjfg;.ewukojhdP:SLK iM SCREAMING YOU GUYS   
> I'm just really excited about this story and pacing myself is really difficult when I have more than one chapter ready but like I know I need to do that in order to keep consistent updates. I'm also trying to get a job so like wish me luck with that! Let me know what you think! Am I being too cryptic? too obvious? too slow? I need some help lol.  
> Crossposted on Tumblr with more writing on [StarlightSoulWriting](https://starlightsoulwriting.tumblr.com/chaos-theory)

#####  SPHINX

_ 11:23 PM _

Liana didn’t have to wait long before she was able to see the advancing swarm of androids from over a mile straight down the street, white ants getting ever closer. By the time they would reach the entrance of Recall Center 5, every human would have long since cleared out of the area, prompted to leave by the news and emergency alerts. The block was already nearly deserted, but now even the national guard and SWAT had to clear out. She would be free to move without Perkins fucking things up (again). She stood from her crouch behind the concrete rails and grabbed her things before launching down the fire escape, the cold metal burning even through her fleece-lined gloves.

The National Gaurd had already cleared away all the bodies, leaving the street blue and her soul hollow, knowing her friends had been thrown away like common trash. Stupid Perkins, stupid president. Ruined everything. Her fist curled, nails sharp enough to feel through the leather and heat bloomed in her chest, her brows furrowing. She grit her teeth, before closing her eyes and collecting herself.

_ Breathe in… Hold…  Breathe out…  _

_ Focus. _

_ There’s no use dwelling on what’s already done. _

Opening her eyes, she then moved to lean against one of the buildings, rummaging around in her bag, wading through the brick-a-brack in search of what she needed. It’s showtime. She just hoped her words of advice to Connor had confused him enough so he would believe her - or at least build some trust. There was no way this would work if he refused to listen. At least he was a deviant now. 

A shudder ran up her spine as memories flashed at the thought of Connor’s less than pleasant machine personality. Liana could still feel the echo of mechanical hands tighten around her throat.  _ Fuck _ . She smashed her balled fist against the brick behind her.

_ Deep Breath. Refocus.  _

_ You’re safe. _

She resumed her search, heartbeat more erratic than it was just a minute ago. She finally found what she was looking for in her bag, though, and she was thankful for the distraction. She pulled out two items from her canvas duffel, a smile tugging at her lips despite the swell of nerves and anger in her stomach. Months of work and it all came down to this next few minutes. She was in the home stretch. -  _ if  _ this worked.

If one looked at the two items in her possession, they wouldn’t seem like anything special. Of course, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Underneath, there was previously unheard of technology hiding. They were designed in every way to blend in, just like her duffel bag was. The silver “watch” in her hand had taken considerably more time to perfect than the canvas sack, however - cramming all the same components into a much smaller package was an obstacle befitting a Genius Grant Laureate such as herself. And she _ had _ done it, eventually, after months of chugging unhealthy amounts of coffee.

Her colleagues would be so impressed when she finally got the chance to show it off.

The other object was more discreet - a thin, clear, silicone disc about the size of a dime. If looked at closely, thousands and thousands of tiny circuits could be seen, capable of holding several petabytes of code. The code had been the hard part, actually - the memory disc was a standard piece of equipment for Android Techs looking to temporarily add new code to their charge. All they had to do was press it on the androids temple, opposite their LED, and it would be integrated into their systems. 

The hard part of Liana’s job had not only been _finding_ the RK800 model’s base codes, but also working with her software team to actually make a dependable subroutine. The AI techs at Cyberlife did _not_ make her life easy, and while that was their job, Liana couldn’t help but hold a grudge against the coding team for making her take longer than she should’ve.

Although, time-wise, the only thing at stake was Liana’s ever-thinning sanity.

All she needed to do now was to get Connor to wear them and then the rest would follow. 

The truth is self-evident, if one is able to remember it.

Connor saw her waiting long before they were in speaking distance. The warehouse androids got there first, swarming the street around Liana, pulling down the barriers of the Recall Center and setting their brethren free. The sound of crunching metal was music to her ears. She leaned back on the brick, trying to appear as casual and non-threatening as possible. 

Connor, however, had other ideas, and stalked towards her, head down, eyes dark and fists loosely clenched at his side. Boy was he pissed.

He was always unhappy to see her after Markus died.

“Where are the others? What happened?” He was using his interrogation voice, deliberately standing too close, looming over her smaller frame to intimidate an answer out of her. So much for that whole trusting her thing Liana was hoping for. She took a deep breath, trying to remind herself that this was Connor, and she gently pushed him away with one hand. While he was displeased, he took the hint and withdrew slightly, thank fuck. He made her nervous when he was like that. Her lungs burned again with bad memories.

She rung her hands together and steeled her nerves. “Perkins shot them. I was keeping watch on the roof,” She couldn’t meet his eyes, the intensity in his stare too much for her right then. “Even with warning, there were too many soldiers for them. Josh told me to stay put even if something went wrong. Figured if they were dying I shouldn’t go with them.” Josh was unnerved by the thought of someone dying for a cause not their own, even if they were willing. Plus, she really disliked being shot, so she didn’t exactly insist. Besides, the mission was more important than Jericho at this point, unfortunately.

Connor wasn’t any happier with her, but he understood the logic all too well, and knowing Markus and Josh, it was as likely an explanation as any.

“And how did you know what would happen at Cyberlife tower? How do I know you’re not working for them?”

Liana barked out a very inappropriate laugh despite herself. “‘Cus they fucking shot me!” She shook her head, sighing. “More than once, actually.” She looked back at Connor, guessing correctly that he would be wearing a bewildered expression. “They kinda suck.” Liana shrugged at her understatement. “Although, I  _ have _ found out a thing or two in my campaign against the evil corporate overlords.” She held up the Silicon coding chip. “For one thing, I know that the Amanda program still has a direct link to your head, and since they know you’re working against them, they  _ are _ going to try to hack you.” She looked him dead in the (very nice looking) eyes just so he would understand how serious she was - how much hinged on him believing her. He was wary enough of the company that she hoped he would believe her. “Now, you  _ could _ take the chance to find Kamski’s emergency exit from the Zen Garden Program, or you can take this.” 

She took his hand in hers and placed the chip in his palm. “It deactivates the Amanda AI, so even if Cyberlife tries to make a connection it won't go through. You don’t have to trust me on this but…” she looked at her watch.  _ 11:29 PM. _ “You have three minutes until they try to take over your program and assume control of the android rebellion. You can comb through that program in less than a few seconds to see if I’m telling the truth.” 

Connor’s LED went solid yellow for a few seconds, his expression blank and eyes glazing over as he processed the information. When he finished, it flashed red for a moment, before returning to a calming, stable blue. He pressed the code to his temple, letting it deactivate the proper AI subroutines. Liana smiled. Step One: complete. His gaze was focused as he searched her face, confused. “How… do you know all this, Lieutenant?”

Aw, the poor thing was used to knowing everything. She crossed her arms and leaned back on the wall, head resting on the brick so she could look at him properly. “You should just call me Liana. Hank and I won't know which one of us you're talking to if you call us both ‘Lieutenant’ all the time,” she gave a soft laugh. Connor was so formal all the time. “but as for me knowing things I shouldn’t? You should be able to figure that out on your own in a few hours, actually. If I told you right now there’s no way in hell you’d believe me, babe.” His LED blipped red again, but Liana wasn’t sure if it was because of confusion or being called ‘babe’ - from her experience, though, it was probably the pet name.

“You said the same thing at the church - that I wouldn’t believe the truth. I assure you, I’m running very low on explanations for how you know all this. I would be glad for any reasoning, however absurd.”

His expression had been steadily softening throughout the conversation until it reached the familiar puppy-dog look that Liana had sorely missed. It had been a while since she’s seen it in earnest. A bloom of warmth spread through her chest and she held back a smile, wary of confusing the poor android further. “Nah, Con, you’ll see for yourself what’s up. Meet me at the café down the block from the station. 9 o’clock on the morning of November 6th, alright? I’ll explain everything to you then.”

Connor’s LED flickered between red and yellow, and he shook his head. “That’s an entire year away, Lieu- Liana.” She just smiled at the use of her name, ignoring his protest, and presented Connor with the silver watch from her bag. Initiate step two.

“Congratulations on saving the day, Connor. I know you don’t need this to tell time, but I want you to have it. As thanks for putting the Cyberlife suits in their place.” 

Connor stared at the gift, yellow blinking LED punctuating the ever-increasing silence between them. But slowly, he reached his hand out and took the watch, clipping it carefully around his left wrist. “Thank you. I’ve never received a gift before.” His voice was soft and Liana had to hold herself back again from hugging him. It was almost too much for her heart to handle.

_ Breathe in. _

_ Breath out. _

_ Focus. _

She smiled gently, finishing the conversation. “I’m glad to give it, Con,” She turned her attention to the androids milling about around them and let out a chuckle. “You should probably talk to them, though, too.” He held her gaze for a moment longer, and turned away. 

Suddenly, the spell over the two was broken, and Connor was back among the sea of robots around them. Step Two: complete.

As she watched him take the stage and begin his speech to the mass of machines, the clocked ticked to November 11,  _ 11:36 AM _ .

 

_ and then they were both gone _


End file.
